NHS finance problem 'being ignored'

The NHS is facing a "substantial financial problem" which politicians are ignoring in the election campaign, the former head of the service says.

Sir David Nicholson, who retired last year, told the BBC the NHS in England was accruing large deficits which would become "crystal clear" later this year.

But he said instead of talking about how to address these, politicians were focusing on expanding services.

He said the situation caused him "very great concern".

In an interview for BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Sir David - who ran the NHS in England for eight years - said that because there was an election period, the NHS was unable to publish the latest report on its financial position.

But he said it was "pretty clear in the NHS that there is a substantial financial problem, particularly in the hospital sector" which would become "crystal clear" in the autumn.

During the interview he said:

• It would be "helpful" if Labour committed to an extra £8bn of funding, as the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have
• But all parties needed to make it available immediately, not by the end of the parliament
• Politicians were talking about extra services when there was already a "financial hole"
• Planned NHS efficiencies of £22bn were a "big ask"
• Failure to achieve them would lead to "managed decline" of the NHS and patients waiting longer for treatment
• He expects "emergency action" such as vacancy freezes to tackle the financial difficulties
• The coalition government's NHS reforms were a "surprise" and "significant distraction"
• He defended his role in Stafford Hospital scandal where he spent 10 months in charge of the local health authority in 2005 and 2006

Policy guide: Health and care

This issue includes NHS funding, GP access and social care, particularly of older people.

Sir David predicted the scale of the problem would be bigger than the one he inherited in 2006 on becoming NHS chief executive, when the health service had accrued a £1bn deficit.

"I have not heard in most of the conversations politicians are having at the moment about what they're going to do about that financial hole.

"They want to talk about extra services and extra investment when actually there is a problem there to face."

He said the NHS would have to take "emergency action" such as vacancy freezes.

But he added: "It will also mean the politicians having to suspend some of their ambitions about the new things they want to do while some of the money that's being promised to the NHS is spent dealing with that particular operational problem."

Who is Sir David?

Sir David Nicholson spent more than 30 years working in the health service. His first chief executive post was in 1988 at Doncaster and Montagu Hospital Trust and he moved into regional NHS management in the late 1990s and became head of the Birmingham and Black Country health authority in 2003.

Two years later he also took charge of two neighbouring organisations, including the one that oversaw Stafford Hospital.

He became chief executive of London's health authority in April 2006, but within months took over from Lord Crisp to run the whole health service - a job he held until last April. He now advises governments across the world about health care.

Sir David also said the financial problems were going to be there for the medium term.

He told the BBC: "We need to institute proper financial discipline in the system... and to make some short-term decisions, to enable us to be in a position where literally we're not building on sand; that actually there is a stable financial base on which you then can take forward the big changes that are needed."

The ex-NHS boss said change would require political consensus.

Analysis

By Nick Triggle, health correspondent

Sir David Nicholson is articulating what those in the health service have been saying to each other throughout this election campaign: that politicians are living in a parallel universe.

All the evidence suggests the NHS needs extra money just to stand still.

But while politicians have promised to cough up, they are all twinning that extra money with promises of more. More doctors and nurses, faster treatment and seven-day services.

NHS staff have met this with a mix of resignation and despair - Unison has already warned of industrial action over the Conservatives plan for seven-day services.

But it will also mean whichever party, or parties, form the next government, the pressure will be on to deliver.

After promising so much, the electorate will be expecting more than many experts predict is possible to deliver.

• That could fund 100 hospitals

• New ways of working could save £22bn

• But NHS still needs an extra £8bn

Thinkstock

'Managed decline'

Last autumn Sir David's successor Simon Stevens set out a five-year plan for the NHS in which he said the health service would need an extra £8bn by 2020 - something the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have committed to in this campaign.

Sir David said it would be "helpful" if Labour made clear whether it too would commit to this figure, which he said needed to be spent at the beginning of the parliament.

The call for an extra £8bn a year was on the basis that the NHS could make £22bn of efficiency savings.

But Sir David cast doubt on whether the NHS could deliver this scale of savings, saying it was "a big ask".

"There is no healthcare system in the world that's delivered this scale. But you could get close.

"But it means actually a united political clinical and managerial leadership in the NHS with a proper debate and discussion with the population about what this all means in practice," he said.

Sir David has warned that if the savings are not made, it could lead to a "managed decline", which would involve patients waiting longer for treatment, new drugs not being made available straight away and it becoming more difficult to see a GP.

'Really challenging'

Lib Dem Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said Sir David and his successor were right to expect parties to explain how they would come up with the funding required for the NHS.

He said the Lib Dems had been "very clear" about where the extra £8bn a year would come from, citing plans to change capital gains tax relief and by tying NHS spending to the proceeds of economic growth.

A Conservative spokesperson said: "We agree that the NHS faces a significant financial challenge over the next Parliament. This is why we have committed to finding at least an extra £8bn a year by 2020."

Labour says it will provide an extra £2.5bn funding a year.

Anita Charlesworth, chief economist at the Health Foundation, said she agreed with Sir David.

She said: "NHS finances can only be described as dire at the moment, three-quarters of our hospitals can't balance their books and at the turn of the year they were running a deficit of £900m.

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Man arrested over Karen Buckley death

Police believe remains found at High Craigton Farm farm are those of Karen Buckley

A 21-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the death of Irish student Karen Buckley, Police Scotland say.

Miss Buckley, from Cork, was reported missing after a night out in Glasgow on Saturday.

Police said human remains had been found at a farm to the north of Glasgow, following a four-day search for the student.

Formal identification of the remains has not yet taken place, they said.

Miss Buckley's relatives have been informed about the discovery, which was made on a farm on the outskirts of Milngavie, six miles from Glasgow city centre.

Searching land

Specialist police divers, a helicopter crew and search dogs have all been involved in the search for the qualified nurse, who moved to Glasgow in February to study occupational therapy at Glasgow Caledonian University.

Her handbag was discovered in Glasgow's Dawsholm Park on Tuesday and officers later began searching land around High Craigton Farm near Milngavie.

The man was formally arrested after being detained for questioning on Wednesday. He is expected to appear at a private hearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Friday.

Police Scotland cordoned off land around the farm and a nearby golf course

A fire appliance was among the emergency service vehicles called to the farm

Police officers remained at the farm on Thursday morning

Miss Buckley was seen on CCTV leaving Glasgow's Sanctuary nightclub with a man in the early hours of Sunday.

She had arrived at the nightclub with friends at about 23:45 on Saturday and at about 01:00 she told them she was going to the toilet. She failed to return and did not take her jacket.

Her friends have said she had had a few drinks, but was not drunk.

Police said later that they had traced a man who told them he had travelled with Miss Buckley by car to a flat in Dorchester Avenue, in the Kelvinside area of the city, but he said she had left at about 04:00 on Sunday.

Miss Buckley's family travelled from Cork to Scotland on Tuesday to make an appeal for information.

Thoughts and prayers

A special prayer service was held near her home in Mallow on Wednesday, and a fundraising page set up by Miss Buckley's former classmates to support her family had raised £20,000 by 10:45 on Thursday.

Irish consular staff have been helping the family since Miss Buckley's disappearance.

Ireland's minister for foreign affairs, Charlie Flanagan, said the thoughts and prayers of everyone in the country were with the Buckley family.

He added: "On behalf of the government, I wish to express appreciation for all that has been done by the Scottish authorities, and especially Police Scotland in Glasgow, to find Karen and to support the Buckley family throughout this very difficult time."

In a statement, Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) said it was "deeply saddened" by the events.

The statement added: "Our thoughts are with Karen's family, friends and classmates at this very difficult time. GCU's student support service, our academic staff, and the advice centre at the Student's Association are available to any students who need support."

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Syrians granted UK jail term appeals

The three asylum seekers fled fighting in Syria but were arrested at Heathrow

Three asylum seekers who fled Syria but were jailed after arriving in the UK without passports have been told they can appeal against their convictions.

The men arrived at Heathrow Airport at different times in 2013, saying they had received threats while in Syria.

However, they were arrested for failing to have travel documents and jailed for between eight weeks and four months.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has now said they were wrongly advised to plead guilty and can appeal.

It brings the number of convictions involving asylum seekers and refugees to be referred to the appeal courts in the last three years to 34.

The three new cases are the first involving Syrians to be referred.

Twenty-six people from other countries have already had similar convictions quashed, the CCRC said.

Analysis by home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw

In 2002, when the number of asylum applicants to the UK hit record levels, topping 100,000, then Home Secretary David Blunkett set out plans to stop abuse of the system.

One of the measures involved a clampdown on people arriving without valid travel and immigration papers: they'd face up to two years in jail if caught.

The powers, which came into force in 2004, may well have contributed to the fall in asylum numbers that followed. But they have had an unintended consequence too, leading to dozens of wrongful convictions.

It's a puzzle why that has happened, when the law quite sensibly provides a defence for people fleeing persecution who can't acquire a genuine passport to get out of their home country. The legal and prison costs are considerable, the human cost even greater.

'Death threats'

It said the first of the three Syrians arrived at Heathrow in July 2013, aged 19.

He told an immigration officer he did not have a passport and wanted to claim asylum.

He said he had fled from Syria after receiving deaths threats and travelled to the UK, via Lebanon and Egypt.

But he was arrested and later sentenced to four months' detention in a young offenders' institution.

The men were "wrongly advised" to admit immigration offences, the CCRC has said

The second man arrived in the UK in August 2013, saying he had left Syria one month earlier due to the war and following verbal threats.

However, he was also arrested and was later sentenced to eight weeks in prison.

The third man arrived in the UK in November 2013 without a passport, saying Syrian government officials suspected him of belonging to the Free Syrian Army.

He was also arrested and later sentenced to three months in prison.

'Reasonable excuse'

All three men had pleaded guilty and were sentenced at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court.

However, the CCRC, which investigates suspected miscarriages in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said they had all been wrongly advised by legal aid lawyers that they had no defence to the charge.

The advice was incorrect as the law provides a defence of "reasonable excuse" for people fleeing persecution who don't have passports, it added.

The CCRC says there is "a real possibility" that the crown court could allow all three men to vacate their guilty pleas on the basis that "each was deprived of a defence that was likely to succeed".

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Primary places revealed amid squeeze

Some children will face longer walks to school than others

More than half a million families are discovering which primary schools their children will attend, amid a growing places squeeze in parts of England.

The day will bring relief for many, but others will be disappointed at learning they have missed out on a first-choice school.

It comes days after council leaders said two in five local authorities would have too few places by 2016.

Some schools have been maximising their capacity by building extra classrooms.

Pressure is growing, particularly in schools on London's fringes and in cities such as Leicester, Nottingham, Reading, Bristol and Peterborough.

And it is likely that more families will miss out on their first-choice school as the places crisis continues to bite.

'Balkanised system'

The crisis has been precipitated mainly by a booming birth-rate, partly by immigration and by families moving specifically to be near popular schools.

The demand for school places has risen steeply in Harrow, which has some very good primary schools. It was predicted to be 12% over capacity by this September but the council said it had worked really hard in its strategy to ensure there are enough places for Harrow children this year.

A spokesman said the crush Harrow was seeing now was very likely to affect other areas around the country soon.

Labour and the National Association of Head Teachers also blame the coalition government's free-school policy, which has allowed some new schools to be opened in areas that already have surplus places.

At the same time, the ability of local authorities to plan for population surges has been reduced by regulations requiring any new schools to be either an academy or a free school, rather than a council school.

NAHT general secretary Russell Hobby said: "Since 2011, the powers of local authorities in planning school places have been significantly reduced without an alternative system to take their place. We have a balkanised system with authorities, academies and central government taking decisions in isolation."

'Reaching the limit'

He added: "There is a desperate need for long-term planning that spans all sectors. With the massive increase in pupil numbers and over-stretched budgets, we cannot afford inefficiency and conflict."

The Local Government Association said the escalating places shortage was one of the key areas that needed to be tackled by the next government.

Earlier this month, it said schools were "reaching their limits and could soon run out of space and money for extra places" and there would be a need for an extra 880,000 pupils at a cost of £12bn.

The Conservatives blame Labour for the problem saying the party "cut over 200,000 primary school places - and even ignored official warnings to provide extra school places after a baby boom".

A spokesman added: "The Conservatives have created over 400,000 school places. There are fewer children in overcrowded primary schools and, most importantly, one million more children in good or outstanding schools since 2010."

'Raise standards'

Labour points out that under the Conservative-Lib Dem administration the number of infant children in classes with more than 30 pupils has more than trebled from 31,265 in 2010 to 102,615 in 2015.

Shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt blamed the Conservatives for spending "hundreds of millions of taxpayers' money on a few free schools in areas where there are no shortages of places".

But Natalie Evans, director of New Schools Network, said: "Over 90% of primary free schools opened or approved to open are in areas where new school places are needed. But they are also offering new choices in areas of low standards."

Liberal Democrat schools minister David Laws said: "It's astonishing that Labour and the Conservatives won't properly fund these children. It will be impossible to provide a place for every child and raise standards unless we protect education budgets.

"Every parent getting an offer today wants to know their child will be attending a great school. Protecting education means we can put a qualified teacher in every classroom, expand early years education and support the children who need extra help."

Has your child got a place at their first choice primary school? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your stories.

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MH370 search area could be extended

Relatives of those who died want answers from investigators on what happened

The search area for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will be doubled if nothing is found in the current search zone, officials say.

The announcement came from Australian, Malaysian and Chinese ministers meeting to discuss progress.

The plane, flying from the Malaysian capital to Beijing, disappeared on 8 March 2014 with 239 people on board.

It is believed to have crashed off Western Australia, but so far no trace has been found.

At the moment teams using sophisticated sonar equipment are scouring a 60,000 sq km (23,000 sq mile) area of seabed far west of the Australian city of Perth. About 40% of this remains to be searched.

If nothing is found, the search will be extended by another 60,000 sq km to "cover the entire highest probability area identified by expert analysis", a joint statement from the ministers said.

The additional search area could take up to a year to complete given adverse weather conditions in the upcoming winter months, the statement said.

Investigators still do not know what happened to the plane.

The search zone has been defined based on analysis of hourly "handshakes" between the plane and a communications satellite.

There is still no explanation as to why it flew so far off course - making finding the plane and its "black box" voice recorders key to understanding its fate.

"We are confident we are searching in the right area,'' Australian Transport Minister Warren Truss told journalists after the meeting.

"We are confident we have the best search equipment... if the plane is in the area we will find it.''

• Search vessels are focused on a 60,000 sq km (23,166 sq m) priority zone; more than 60% of the area has been scoured to date

• Cost of A$120m (£61m; US$93m) has been jointly funded by Australia and Malaysia

How the search is conducted

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Peer will not face sex abuse charges

Greville Janner was Labour MP for Leicester North West and then Leicester West

Labour peer Lord Janner will not be charged with child sexual abuse offences, the CPS has said.

The severity of 86-year-old Greville Janner's dementia meant he was not fit to take part in court proceedings, the director of public prosecutions said.

Leicestershire Police has been investigating abuse allegations against the peer dating back to the mid-1970s.

In 1991, he told Parliament he was innocent after a man claimed he had been abused.

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Four arrested in terrorism inquiry

Four people have been arrested at Manchester Airport on suspicion of terrorism, police have said.

Two others were arrested on Tuesday as part of the same investigation, launched after nine people were stopped on the Turkey-Syria border on 1 April.

The four are aged between 22 and 47 and are all from Rochdale, Greater Manchester Police said.

Waheed Ahmed, 21, a Labour councillor's son, was one of two men arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of terrorism.

He was arrested at Birmingham Airport after being deported from Turkey.

A 31-year-old man was also arrested over the same offence in the Rochdale area.

The six arrested people remain in custody.

The group of nine detained in Turkey included five adults and four children.

Greater Manchester Police said officers were working to establish their reason for travel and apparent attempted entry into Syria.

Waheed Ahmed was seen preparing to leave Hatay on a coach

The nine Britons were detained in Hatay near the Syrian border on 1 April

Officers searched houses in the Rochdale borough as part of the investigation and police said no evidence was found to suggest any "imminent threat" to Rochdale or the rest of the UK.

Greater Manchester Police said in a statement: "Officers continue to work closely with Rochdale Borough Council, local partners, and faith leaders as part of the 'Prevent' initiative."

Footage released on Sunday shows Mr Ahmed leaving a police station in Hatay in Turkey, before getting a coach to Antalya.

His father, Rochdale Labour councillor Shakil Ahmed, said he had thought his son was on holiday.

In a statement he said: "My son is a good Muslim and his loyalties belong to Britain, so I don't understand what he's doing there."

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UN urges action to save migrants

The UN refugee agency says not enough is being done to save the lives of the increased numbers of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.

A UNHCR spokesman told the BBC around 400 migrants were still missing after their boat capsized off Libya.

The Libyan coastguard has told the BBC it expects more people to attempt crossings later this week.

Hundreds more migrants rescued from boats in the Mediterranean are due to arrive in Sicily during the day.

More than 8,000 migrants have been picked up since Friday, and more boats are heading for the Italian coast.

Italy's interior ministry has instructed officials throughout the country to be prepared to house the new arrivals, many of whom are children.

UN officials say well over 500 people have died since the start of the year, 30 times more than in the same period last year.

Over 280,000 people entered the EU illegally last year, many fleeing conflict in Syria and repression in Eritrea.

'Migration season'

The Italian coast guard rescued 144 people from the boat on Monday and launched an air and sea search operation in hopes of saving others.

Nine bodies have already been recovered, but no more survivors have been found since then.

The BBC's Quentin Sommerville is at a detention centre for would-be migrants in Misrata, Libya - among them this 14-year-old from Eritrea (below). "Is this a jail? Are we refugees?" some of the migrants ask, saying they have been held for seven months.

Clear skies spell death for migrants

Last year, 170,000 migrants crossed the Mediterranean to Italy and as many as 3,500 died while making the journey, officials say.

The Italian government's maritime rescue operation was scaled back, amid concerns that it was encouraging migrant crossings, and a more limited EU border security operation took over.

However, the latest numbers show that the EU's policy of deterring people is not working, the BBC's James Reynolds in Sicily reports.

Shots fired

Meanwhile the EU's Frontex border agency said that people smugglers had fired shots into the air to warn away another coast guard vessel rescuing migrants.

The incident on Monday happened about 60 nautical miles off Libya after an Italian vessel and an Icelandic coast guard ship came to the rescue of 250 migrants on a tugboat.

More than 8,000 migrants have been rescued from the Mediterranean since Friday

After most of the migrants were rescued, traffickers in a speedboat drove towards the rescuers, firing shots before retrieving the now-empty migrant boat.

The coast guard vessel was already carrying 342 migrants from a previous rescue.

Frontex says the incident shows that traffickers are running out of boats.

EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos told the European Parliament: "The unprecedented influx of migrants at our borders, and in particular refugees, is unfortunately the new norm and we will need to adjust our responses accordingly."

Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been without a stable government allowing trafficking networks to thrive.

On Friday, humanitarian organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres announced it would operate a search and rescue mission in the Mediterranean between May and October.

Are you in the area? Are you affected by the issues in this story? You can share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk

Please leave a contact number if you are willing to speak with a BBC journalist.

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GP services face 'retirement crisis'

GP services are facing a crisis, with a third of doctors considering retirement in the next five years, a British Medical Association poll suggests.

The survey of more than 15,000 UK GPs also found over a quarter were considering working part-time.

And one in 10 said they were thinking about moving abroad.

BMA GP leader Dr Chaand Nagpaul said the findings showed some of the promises being made about doctors by politicians were "absurd".

Improving GP care has been one of the major themes of debate in the election, with the Conservatives promising seven-day access to services and Labour pledging a 48-hour waiting-time guarantee.

Policy guide: Health and care

This issue includes NHS funding, GP access and social care, particularly of older people.

The findings are in the second tranche of results from the BMA's poll of GPs, in which nearly a third of doctors in the UK took part.

Last week the BMA released figures suggesting excessive workloads were harming care. This batch of results focused on the effect those rising demands were having. It suggests:

• 34% of GPs are considering retiring from general practice in the next five years
• 28% of those working full-time are thinking about moving to part-time
• 9% are considering moving abroad
• 7% are considering quitting medicine altogether

They also cited various factors that had a negative impact on their commitment to being a GP, including:

• excessive workload - 71%
• un-resourced work being moved into general practice - 54%
• not enough time with their patients - 43%

Reality Check: Have GP services got worse?

Nick Triggle: Is there really a GP crisis?

Dr Nagpaul said: "This poll lays bare the stark reality of the crisis facing the GP workforce.

"It is clear that incredible pressures on GP services are at the heart of this problem, with escalating demand having far outstripped capacity.

"GPs are overworked and intensely frustrated that they do not have enough time to spend with their patients.

"In this climate, it is absurd that in the recent leaders' debate, political parties were attempting to outbid each other on the number of GPs they could magically produce in the next Parliament.

"Since it takes five to eight years to train a GP, it is not possible to create thousands of GPs in this timeframe."

Katherine Murphy, of the Patients Association, said: "We know from the many calls to our helpline that patients are not able to access GP services at times when they need to.

"What patients want is a clear and firm commitment that GPs now and tomorrow will have the resources to meet their needs.

"Anything less is just not acceptable.

"We need a 21st Century primary care service with access 24/7."

But a spokesman for NHS England said measures were being put in place to recruit extra GPs through the recently developed workforce action plan.

He said: "NHS England has invested £10m to kick-start the initiatives in the plan, which include incentives to recruit newly trained doctors into general practice, schemes to retain GPs thinking of leaving the profession and a new induction and returner scheme to encourage more GPs to return from to work after a period of absence working abroad or from a career break."

There are currently 9,000 GPs in training, although 14,000 doctors - about four in 10 - are over the age of 50.

Are you a GP considering retirement or working part-time? What is your reaction to the BMA poll findings? You can email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your experience.

Please include a telephone number if you are willing to be contacted by a BBC journalist.

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EU set to announce Google action

The Commission may send Google a "statement of objections" after a five-year investigation

The European Union is expected to set out later the action it will take against Google over alleged anti-competitive behaviour.

Its competition commissioner is likely to outline her intentions against the search giant following a five-year EU investigation into the company.

Reports suggest Margrethe Vestager will issue a "statement of objections".

That would escalate a process that could ultimately lead to billions of euros of fines.

But Google told employees on Tuesday that it had a "very strong case" and is expected to defend itself robustly in what could become one of the most contentious antitrust cases since the EU took on Microsoft 10 years ago.

The Commission is responding to complaints that Google, which accounts for more than a 90% of EU-based web searches, favours its own products in search engine results.

The company has yet to respond formally.

'Preferential treatment'

The European Commission has investigated the antitrust allegations - made by Microsoft, Tripadvisor, Streetmap and others - since 2010.

They object to the fact that the firm places reviews from Google+, directions from Google Maps, music and videos from YouTube, and adverts from its Adwords platform ahead of others' links in relevant searches.

"At the core must be the fundamental principle that Google must not abuse its power in general online search to give preferential treatment to its own separate services," Icomp, a lobbying group representing the complainants, said earlier this year..

Google is accused of promoting results from its own services ahead of other links

"If Google takes the view that users are best served by search results that integrate additional services, Google must choose the services that benefit consumers most, even if the services are not its own."

Last year, Google agreed to alter the way it displayed its search results, but the changes it suggested were deemed to be insufficient.

The previous competition commissioner, Joaquin Almunia, asked the company to come up with a new plan.

He left his post without resolving the matter, and was criticised by some politicians for not having taken a firmer stance.

Legal requirement

Ms Vestager, his successor, may take a tougher line by issuing a "statement of objections".

This involves sending a letter that sets out all the objections the commission can base its final decision on, and is a legal requirement, providing Google an opportunity to respond before action is taken.

Margrethe Vestager is the EU's competition commissioner

Google could face huge fines and be ordered to reshape its business in Europe.

In recent years, the Commission has imposed antitrust penalties on other tech giants, ordering Intel to pay 1.1bn euros (£793m; $1.2bn) in 2009 and Microsoft 516m euros in 2013.

'Example'

Thomas Vinje, spokesman for FairSearch Europe, said issuing a statement of objections would "represent a significant step towards ending Google's anti-competitive practices, which have harmed innovation and consumer choice".

"Google's search engine makes it a gatekeeper to different markets in which Google itself also operates," said Paul Henty, a lawyer at Charles Russell Speechlys who has previously worked for the European Commission.

"I think the Commission will want to send an unequivocal message that it has a special responsibility to give its rivals fair and equal access to customers.

"But I can't see that this will be a fast process given the complexity of the subject matter, what's at stake and the likely level of the fine."

In an internal memo to its staff, Google insisted that competition to its search business was "thriving" despite allegations to the contrary.

"People can use Bing, Yahoo, Quora, DuckDuckGo, and a new wave of search assistants like Apple's Siri and Microsoft's Cortana," it said.

"In addition, users increasingly turn to social networks like Facebook and Twitter to find news and suggestions - where to eat or which movies to watch.

"[And] mobile is changing everything - with the explosion of apps taking people directly to the information they want."

Google insists rival services, including Microsoft's Bing, provide users with an alternative despite its dominance of web searches in Europe

International inquiries

The EU's investigation is not the only one Google is facing.

Investigators at India's Competition Commission delivered a report last week after carrying out a three-year probe into claims of unfair business practices.

Their counterparts in Russia, Brazil, Argentina, Taiwan and Canada have also opened investigations.

However, the US Federal Trade Commission dropped its own probe at the start of 2013 after Google made several non-binding commitments.

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